Technical Lead job at NKISI Holdings Uganda Ltd

ABOUT NKISI

NKISI Holdings Uganda Ltd is the Ugandan project-development subsidiary of NKISI Holdings Ltd, a UK-based infrastructure, energy and technology company.

NKISI is developing renewable-energy, power, digital and compute infrastructure, and strategic industrial projects. Our objective is to expand access to reliable energy, strengthen industrial productivity and build scalable infrastructure across Uganda and other African markets.

Our Uganda operations are at an early project-development stage. Immediate priorities include identifying viable projects, assessing industrial energy requirements, supporting Letters of Intent, coordinating site and feasibility studies, managing advisers and preparing projects for investment and implementation.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Technical Lead will coordinate NKISI’s early-stage technical project-development activities in Uganda.

The successful candidate will assess prospective clients and project sites, review energy-consumption information, coordinate technical studies, evaluate engineering options and determine whether opportunities are technically and commercially viable.

The role will translate engineering information into clear recommendations, system requirements, cost assumptions, development plans and technical risk assessments.

The initial focus will be project origination, industrial energy assessments, feasibility coordination, preliminary design, regulatory preparation and consultant management.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Industrial energy assessments

• Attend meetings and site visits with prospective industrial and commercial customers.
• Review electricity bills, load profiles, operating schedules, equipment information and previous energy reports.
• Identify data gaps and determine whether further measurements, audits or specialist studies are required.
• Estimate electricity demand, peak load, consumption, system capacity and potential savings.
• Assess solar PV, battery storage, grid integration, backup generation and hybrid-energy options.
• Prepare technical summaries to support client discussions, Letters of Intent and feasibility decisions.
• Explain technical findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Site identification and project screening

• Identify and assess potential renewable-energy and infrastructure sites.
• Review solar resources, land, access, grid proximity, environmental constraints, existing infrastructure and expansion potential.
• Record coordinates, photographs, observations and supporting evidence.
• Compare sites using consistent technical, commercial and development criteria.
• Recommend whether opportunities should proceed, be revised, paused or discontinued.

Feasibility and preliminary engineering

• Define the technical information required for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies.
• Support scopes of work for engineers, surveyors, environmental consultants and specialists.
• Coordinate client, site, grid, environmental and resource data.
• Review consultant reports, calculations, drawings, assumptions and recommendations.
• Identify unsupported assumptions, missing information, inconsistencies and technical risks.
• Coordinate comments and revisions before recommending approval.
• Develop or review preliminary system concepts, calculations, energy-yield estimates, equipment schedules, storage requirements and grid-connection concepts.
• Ensure feasibility work supports commercial, financing and investor-readiness requirements.

The Technical Lead will coordinate qualified specialists and will not be expected to personally complete every specialist study.

Compute-infrastructure energy systems

• Support power-system assessments for data centres, AI infrastructure, high-performance computing and other energy-intensive compute operations.
• Evaluate continuous and flexible loads, power quality, redundancy, cooling demand, backup systems and behind-the-meter integration.
• Assess how renewable generation, battery storage and grid supply can provide reliable and cost-effective power.
• Translate compute-load assumptions into generation capacity, storage requirements, operating constraints and preliminary capital costs.

Consultant, contractor and supplier management

• Identify and evaluate engineering consultants, surveyors, contractors and equipment suppliers.
• Review proposals, methodologies, qualifications, cost assumptions and deliverables.
• Monitor performance against agreed scopes, timelines and milestones.
• Verify progress before recommending technical approval or milestone payment.
• Coordinate clarifications, requests for information and design revisions.
• Escalate delays, quality concerns, scope variations and emerging risks promptly.

Regulatory and permitting coordination

• Work with legal, environmental and regulatory advisers to identify required approvals.
• Support engagement with ERA, NEMA, UETCL, UEDCL, local authorities, ministries and utilities.
• Prepare or coordinate technical information for licences, permits, environmental approvals and grid-connection applications.
• Maintain a regulatory and permitting tracker for each project.
• Monitor requirements, approval timelines, dependencies and outstanding actions.
• Ensure proposals consider Ugandan standards, grid, safety and environmental requirements.
• Maintain organised records of submissions, correspondence and approvals.

Technical costs and financial-model support

• Prepare or review preliminary capital and operating-cost estimates, equipment schedules and indicative bills of quantities.
• Obtain and compare quotations from suppliers, consultants and contractors.
• Work with the CEO, finance lead and advisers to ensure technical assumptions are accurately reflected in financial models.
• Support value engineering without compromising safety, quality or long-term reliability.

Technical systems, reporting and risk management

• Establish and maintain an organised digital technical-document repository.
• Introduce templates for site assessments, energy-data collection, consultant reviews, risk registers, project tracking and technical approvals.
• Maintain project files and produce concise management updates.
• Establish a technical risk register for each active project.
• Identify project, grid, equipment, environmental, permitting, cost and scheduling risks.
• Recommend mitigation actions and escalate material concerns promptly.
• Apply a “no evidence, no technical approval” approach to material consultant and supplier deliverables.

CORE COMPETENCIES

The successful candidate will demonstrate technical judgement, commercial awareness, ownership, integrity, attention to detail and effective communication. They must be comfortable building practical systems in an early-stage environment.

The Technical Lead will not approve major expenditure, enter contracts or provide statutory engineering certification unless separately authorised and professionally qualified.

• Attend meetings and site visits with prospective industrial and commercial customers.
• Review electricity bills, load profiles, operating schedules, equipment information and previous energy reports.
• Identify data gaps and determine whether further measurements, audits or specialist studies are required.
• Estimate electricity demand, peak load, consumption, system capacity and potential savings.
• Assess solar PV, battery storage, grid integration, backup generation and hybrid-energy options.
• Prepare technical summaries to support client discussions, Letters of Intent and feasibility decisions.
• Explain technical findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Identify and assess potential renewable-energy and infrastructure sites.
• Review solar resources, land, access, grid proximity, environmental constraints, existing infrastructure and expansion potential.
• Record coordinates, photographs, observations and supporting evidence.
• Compare sites using consistent technical, commercial and development criteria.
• Recommend whether opportunities should proceed, be revised, paused or discontinued.
• Define the technical information required for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies.
• Support scopes of work for engineers, surveyors, environmental consultants and specialists.
• Coordinate client, site, grid, environmental and resource data.
• Review consultant reports, calculations, drawings, assumptions and recommendations.
• Identify unsupported assumptions, missing information, inconsistencies and technical risks.
• Coordinate comments and revisions before recommending approval.
• Develop or review preliminary system concepts, calculations, energy-yield estimates, equipment schedules, storage requirements and grid-connection concepts.
• Ensure feasibility work supports commercial, financing and investor-readiness requirements.
• Support power-system assessments for data centres, AI infrastructure, high-performance computing and other energy-intensive compute operations.
• Evaluate continuous and flexible loads, power quality, redundancy, cooling demand, backup systems and behind-the-meter integration.
• Assess how renewable generation, battery storage and grid supply can provide reliable and cost-effective power.
• Translate compute-load assumptions into generation capacity, storage requirements, operating constraints and preliminary capital costs.
• Identify and evaluate engineering consultants, surveyors, contractors and equipment suppliers.
• Review proposals, methodologies, qualifications, cost assumptions and deliverables.
• Monitor performance against agreed scopes, timelines and milestones.
• Verify progress before recommending technical approval or milestone payment.
• Coordinate clarifications, requests for information and design revisions.
• Escalate delays, quality concerns, scope variations and emerging risks promptly.
• Work with legal, environmental and regulatory advisers to identify required approvals.
• Support engagement with ERA, NEMA, UETCL, UEDCL, local authorities, ministries and utilities.
• Prepare or coordinate technical information for licences, permits, environmental approvals and grid-connection applications.
• Maintain a regulatory and permitting tracker for each project.
• Monitor requirements, approval timelines, dependencies and outstanding actions.
• Ensure proposals consider Ugandan standards, grid, safety and environmental requirements.
• Maintain organised records of submissions, correspondence and approvals.
• Prepare or review preliminary capital and operating-cost estimates, equipment schedules and indicative bills of quantities.
• Obtain and compare quotations from suppliers, consultants and contractors.
• Work with the CEO, finance lead and advisers to ensure technical assumptions are accurately reflected in financial models.
• Support value engineering without compromising safety, quality or long-term reliability.
• Establish and maintain an organised digital technical-document repository.
• Introduce templates for site assessments, energy-data collection, consultant reviews, risk registers, project tracking and technical approvals.
• Maintain project files and produce concise management updates.
• Establish a technical risk register for each active project.
• Identify project, grid, equipment, environmental, permitting, cost and scheduling risks.
• Recommend mitigation actions and escalate material concerns promptly.
• Apply a “no evidence, no technical approval” approach to material consultant and supplier deliverables.

• Technical judgement
• Commercial awareness
• Ownership
• Integrity
• Attention to detail
• Effective communication
• Comfortable building practical systems in an early-stage environment.

• Technical judgement
• Commercial awareness
• Ownership
• Integrity
• Attention to detail
• Effective communication
• Comfortable building practical systems in an early-stage environment.